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With the end of the year upon us, it is time to start planning an exciting getaway to an exceptional destination, and in 2019 it is India that offers the most exciting tours. Get organised, plan your budget and make losing yourself in the grand palaces, iconic monuments and imposing forts of India your main goal for next year.

India A Mind-Boggling Destination Every Tourist Deserves to Experience

India is one of the most diverse destinations to visit. It is also the sort of place that will most certainly never lose its mind-boggling appeal due to its array of iconic monuments, an array of historic ruins as well as its interesting blend of cultures giving vibrancy and colour to its every turn and street corner. If your journey goal is India, then it is important to visit all the best destinations within the county starting with Kerala in the south to Rajasthan in the north.

Kerala offers all the tropical delights you could dream off and is situated in the deep south of India, it offers the picturesque Munnar hill station, while it is a must to visit the historic site of Fort Kochi, and then there is the field of tea plantations. If possible, this area should be enjoyed by spending a night or two aboard one of the houseboats, to discover the peace and tranquillity offered by gliding through the palm-fringed waters. Some of the best tours of 2019 include a day or more spend at these amazing places.

Kochi – Cochin

Famed in history, Kochi was first known as Cochin which offered the sanctuary to the Jews over 2,500 years ago, the first European colony was founded by the Portuguese in the 16th century in Kochi, and then the Dutch followed with the British shortly after. The city is truly fascinating due to the cosmopolitan culture mix, and the highlight of any visit is the performance of the Kathakali, which is a traditional dance, which is a form of Kerala.

Kochi – Munnar

Munnar is where the historic Fort Kochi is based, and a visit to the winding streets of the town also allows visitors to enjoy the exterior of the St Francis Church as well as the Dutch palace. Endless stretches of tea plantations leave a permanent impression on those who get the privilege to see them, while Alleppey is only about a 5-hour drive from Munnar.

In preparing for your visit to India, it is best first to list all the places, (and there are many) you want to see, followed by transportation options, hotels and do make sure a boat stay is included, while fascinating scenes are offered by the small villages. Kumarakom is a cluster of islands on the Vembanad Lake, it is one of the most impressive sceneries, and that includes the 14 acres large bird sanctuary, which makes it one of the destinations you might not want to miss.

Tourists are not always beneficial as it has been seen that there have been instances where they have been involved in putting the overall environment in jeopardy. In fact, that is what has made the Kerala pristine backwaters at back foot. In one of the recent studies, it has been revealed that the tourism spots in the state of Kerala are making the backwaters in jeopardy.

In fact, on close scrutiny we find that the problem is primarily confined to places where boating facilities are available. They are primarily responsible for the sand-bed formation confined to the boating channels.

In one of the recent studies, it has been witnessed by the Hydrographic Survey Wing of the Kerala Government on the Vembanad Lake that backwater tours are proving dangerous for the beds of water and are not safe at all. It is primarily on the route of Alappuzha-Kumarakom route. So, Kerala Tours lean towards tours that are becoming a bit problematic.

According to one of the men involved in hydrography, it has been found that chief hydrographer A P Sunderalal telling the depletion of water levels. In fact, a ride through these channels is leaning towards causing accidents. As far as the survey is concerned, it has been found that nearly at all minor ports in the vicinities of Kerala state the survey came with following observations.

As far as the trend is concerned, sand-bed formation has been witnessed at regular intervals at Munambam and Azheekkal port. It also involved the dredging that was clearly visible.

However, as far as the current booking is concerned, there seems to be no looking back.

As Kerala health tourism gears up for a substantial meet organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on October 21-22 at Hotel Le Meridian, it seems that it is in best of its health.

In fact, it will be the third edition of the Kerala Health Tourism 2011, which will be accompanied by International Conference and Exhibition on Health Tourism from October 21 to October 22 at Hotel Le Meridien.

As far as the agenda is concerned, it is clear that it would take into account the current and emerging trends pertaining to health tourism. It will take into consideration the opportunities and challenges facing the Indian Health Tourism as well. The meet will also ponder over the elements such as discussion on the preparedness of Indian hospitals etc. It is clear that it will focus on making the health tourism more profound and significant in India.

As a result, congregation of major hospitals is set to participate along with health insurance companies and the processes will also open doors for policy makers to address it in the better way. As there will be no dearth of tourism promotion boards, health travel and tour operators, it is a thing to witness the hotels and tourist resorts as well, participating in it. It will also include international institutions for promotion of health tourism as well.

In addition, there will also be plenary sessions, which will include International Experiences and Best Practices taking into consideration betterment of the current medical practices. The trend seems to be healthy as it takes into consideration many aspects pertaining to health tourism into account. It is clear that Kerala tourism is heading in the right direction.

The best way to keep a tab on the global travel industry is through gauging the online travel booking. As it is expected to grow especially in the current year, there is no dearth of market potential it finds especially in China, Brazil, and India as of now. It clearly suggests the upward trend indicating strong market scenario in the context of India Tours.

The trend of booking trips online is expected to grow further in 2012, especially in emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil. As the growth of Internet is profuse, it is nevertheless one of the biggest factors in making online booking stronger and better.
What’s more, the current finding clearly shows that in 2012, the “Online Travel Segment” is expected to represent nearly one third of the total global travel market value. The data is exceptionally valuable from Indian travel point of view.

As far as online travel sales in the US are concerned, the forecast shows that they are to increase by more than 10% in 2012 in comparison to the previous year, 2011. No doubt, Tours to India are getting consolidated. The UK is projected to remain the largest share as far as Europe’s online travel market is concerned. It is projected to do best in 2013, which will be followed by Germany and France.

Gross bookings on the Asia Pacific online leisure/ unmanaged business travel are also showing great potential that is expecting to increase by more than +30% in 2012 compared to 2010. It is a fact that tours of India are growing unprecedentedly.

To be in control is the key. This is what primarily drives the philosophy of self drive tours that are increasingly becoming popular in India and elsewhere. The trend can be ascertained by the fact that there is no dearth of car rental companies that are being involved in the process.

In fact tours to India are laden with complexity as this country is extremely diverse in nature. With unparalleled destinations at one’s disposal there is no dearth of witnessing many forms of tourism opportunities.

Since it has been largely felt that India needs to be explored to a large extent, it is with the active help of self help tours, the same is becoming possible. Although the current concept falls in the category of a niche concept, the actual number of Indian tourists opting for self-drive has been on a sharp rise particularly in the past five years.

Pondering on the statistics, we find that in the year 2010, approximately 30 per cent of all Indians arriving into North America opted for a rented vehicle in wake of their stay. What’s more, the number has always been whopping. With more freedom and flexibility, the concept of self help tours is getting popular in leaps and bounds.

In fact, there are many advantages associated with it. As we indicated, there is always more freedom to explore the desired destination/s and that too at one’s own pace. At the international level, the concept of self-drive is making headway in its entirety.

No dearth of festivals and key events on charts, Gujarat Tourism is reigning supreme in every respect. With 2.25 crore tourists stepping in Gujarat in 2012, the tourism industry of the state has recorded 18-20 per cent increase in the international tourism footfalls.

This is substantiated by the government agency as Kamlesh Patel, Chairman, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL), said, “We will be participating in trade fairs, organising festivals and summits to promote tourism in Gujarat.” Patel also said, “This year, we will witness a milestone as we celebrate the Silver Jubilee edition of Gujarat’s flagship event, International Kite Festival. The International Kite Festival is an opportunity to witness the rich and vibrant culture of Gujarat.” Crore footfalls and best to come yet to Gujarat tourism is indeed an agenda, which the state is following.

In fact, there have been significant changes in the way Gujarat tourism is heading. Indeed the trend is healthy and mark for enhanced tourism opportunities as far as India tours is concerned. This is the way through which things are moving in positive direction as far as the Indian tourism industry is concerned. The recent positive trends are bettering the Indian position in terms of tourism, which are going in positive direction.

Recent data, IAMAI, admired for its substantive abilities, reveals that travel industry is profusely growing online. The trend has even made retail sites, job portals or matrimonial sites lag behind in terms of e-commerce pace.

The noteworthy report for the month of October, 2012, this time by the Internet Economy Watch Report, 2012, released this week by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) clearly points out a significant growth of 31 percent in wake of online booking of air tickets.

The source from where the data has been taken is based on the monthly Internet tracker. Its substantive nature can be ascertained by the fact that it has been taken from various relevant sites. The usage for e-tailing, vertical classifieds and online travel are the major indicators.

Pondering on the numbers, October 2012 witnessed 1.58 million that is higher than October 2011 that stood at 1.21. On the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Web site, the growth has been impressive at 15 percent. The total number of bookings stands at 4.72 million in October 2012, which is higher than 4.1 million the previous year. Hence it can be ascertained that tours to India is profusely growing.

Pondering on the economic state of the affairs, we find that the world faces the horror of economic slowdown and perhaps the crises as envisaged by some of the pundits.

Indeed, the Euro zone is trembling with ague with Pound getting weaker for a quite a long time. Even the great US dollar is losing its monopoly by a tad of bit. One could witness Romney and Obama debates over the issue in the recent times in wake of elections in America.

So, are we in pathetic situation? Well, for a moment one can think so but pondering deeper we find that the case is different as far as India in particular is concerned.

Money is catching up in India. Just look at the SUV-studded, gas-guzzling Bharat and you will realize on the contrary. There has always been a great upsurge in learning the English language. What’s more, it has been good for tour to India where many travelers came in heavy numbers.

On the other hand, we also find that the Domestic Tourism market is also flourishing. It is not contracting as to the popular belief. In fact, it is growing in leaps and bounds.

Indeed, travel in today’s times is no longer seen as a leisure activity. It has become a social act. The shrinking of Internet and cell phones has lead to the world and time to come closer without any hassles.

Agra State tourism industry is in news for a weird reason. It has been recently alleged that there is some lobby that is acting against the initiation of flight services at Kheria Airport. This is in wake of non availability of ILS (Instrumental Landing System) despite the fact that it has been approved by the Prime Minister Office, Defence Ministry of India and various other senior officers.

The flights are getting cancelled in wake of poor visibility on the landing track thus leading to incurring loss in business terms for the overall industry. The worst part is the non availability of safety certificate by the DGCA that is leading to behave on the same lines by the Indian Air Force.

The recent cancellation pertains to the Spice Jet flight, which was cancelled subscribing to the above mentioned reasons thus leading to considerable loss to the tourism industry of the state. Indeed India tours have been hit hard in wake of it.

Every flight results in loss for approximately 5 Crore and there has been a net loss for 60 crore in the last few months. It has been felt that some people are against the use of flights in Agra for some reasons. It has to be ascertained the identity of these people are as it has been indicated that they belong to Delhi, hub of powerful and mighty.

If you are of the opinion that tourism is only confined to going places and witnessing holiday hotspots, you need to widen your belief system. Indeed, tourism has always been evolving into an indomitable entity with unfolding of unique opportunities. Sooner the better!

Recently, there has been a term, Music Tourism, which may seem strange, that is gripping fast the imagination of travelers who value culture more than anything else. Yes, it is the power of music and dance that is attracting millions to various vicinities of the world.

Music festivals are becoming popular than ever. Take into account the largest music festival of the world, Summerfest that goes for 11 days in Milwaukee in Wisconsin. Attracting almost 1000000 enthusiasts from all over the world, you can well imagine its intensity.